Cooke Lucy J, Wardle Jane
Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, WC1E 6BT UK.
Br J Nutr. 2005 May;93(5):741-6. doi: 10.1079/bjn20051389.
The present study was conducted to examine the developmental patterning of food preferences in a large sample of British schoolchildren and to investigate possible gender differences. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the study was carried out in three primary and three secondary schools in West London, UK. A total of 1291 children aged from 4 to 16 years completed a 115-item food preference questionnaire in class time, supervised by class teachers and assistants. Children indicated whether they had ever tried each item and, if so, how much they liked it. We observed age-related increases in the number of foods tried (P<0.001), liked (P<0.005) and disliked (P<0.05). Controlling for the number of foods tried rendered the increase in dislikes non-significant and reversed the age effect on the number liked. Girls liked fruit (P<0.05) and vegetables (P<0.001) more than boys did; boys liked fatty and sugary foods (P<0.005), meat (P<0.001), processed meat products (P<0.001) and eggs (P<0.05) more than girls did. Some age differences were apparent in liking for categories of food, although the effects were not linear. Across ages and genders, children rated fatty and sugary foods most highly, although ratings for fruit were also high. Children's food preferences overall are not consistent with a healthy diet. Interventions should focus on increasing the familiarity, availability and accessibility of healthy foods and should be mindful of the need to target messages appropriately for boys who have less healthful food preferences than girls at all ages.
本研究旨在调查大量英国学童食物偏好的发展模式，并探究可能存在的性别差异。采用横断面调查设计，该研究在英国伦敦西部的三所小学和三所中学开展。共有1291名4至16岁的儿童在课堂时间，由任课教师和助教监督下完成了一份115项的食物偏好问卷。孩子们表明他们是否曾尝试过每种食物，如果尝试过，他们有多喜欢。我们观察到，尝试过的食物数量（P<0.001）、喜欢的食物数量（P<0.005）和不喜欢的食物数量（P<0.05）均随年龄增长。控制尝试过的食物数量后，不喜欢的食物数量增加不再显著，且年龄对喜欢的食物数量的影响发生了逆转。女孩比男孩更喜欢水果（P<0.05）和蔬菜（P<0.001）；男孩比女孩更喜欢高脂肪和高糖食物（P<0.005）、肉类（P<0.001）、加工肉类产品（P<0.001）和鸡蛋（P<0.05）。在对食物类别的喜好方面存在一些年龄差异，尽管影响并非呈线性。在各个年龄和性别中，孩子们对高脂肪和高糖食物的评价最高，不过对水果的评价也很高。孩子们总体的食物偏好与健康饮食不符。干预措施应侧重于提高健康食物的熟悉度、可得性和可及性，并应注意需要针对所有年龄段中食物偏好不如女孩健康的男孩，适当地调整宣传信息。
